Spontaneous transformation of selenium from monoclinic micro-balls to trigonal nano-rods in ethanol solution

In a solution of ethanol, Se micro-balls produced in the glow discharge of H2Se, comprising a mixture of trigonal and monoclinic phases, spontaneously converted to nano-rods with diameters of ca. 30–180 nm and lengths up to 1 µm. This solid–liquid–solid process, with high yield and low cost, may be extended to the manufacture of one-dimensional nano-materials from allotropes several hundred times larger than the nano-materials formed.